Here we see a satirical illustration entitled 'The Physician Curing Fantasy' by Mathaus Greuter (1564-1638) satirizing the modern medical treatments of the late 1590s or early 1600s. At left, we see a doctor pouring liquid through a funnel into a patient's mouth. While the medicine is undoubtedly foul, there's no denying its effectiveness as it causes the patient to defecate a trio of homunculi out into a chamber pot. Meanwhile, in the foreground, another patient is pushed into the "Furnace to Purge Folly," resulting in the eruption of various phantasmagorical images.

About the Author: Robert Lamb spent his childhood reading books and staring into the woods — first in Newfoundland, Canada and then in rural Tennessee. There was also a long stretch in which he was terrified of alien abduction. He earned a degree in creative writing. He taught high school and then attended journalism school. He wrote for the smallest of small-town newspapers before finally becoming a full-time science writer and podcaster. He’s currently a senior writer at HowStuffWorks and has co-hosted the science podcast Stuff to Blow Your Mind since its inception in 2010. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling with his wife Bonnie, discussing dinosaurs with his son Bastian and crafting the occasional work of fiction.